Can a $20 plugin hang with one costing ten times more?
I spent several hours over a few days comparing the Universal Audio Precision Limiter to the ToneBoosters Barricade Limiter, which I already own. The results were both surprising and, really, not that surprising.
Both plugs perform the same basic task: clean brick wall limiting on busses and especially the stereo mix bus.
The UAD PL works and sounds good. No real complaints from me except that UA wants $200 for it.
Auto release works well and the sound is pretty transparent without pumping and with a nice compliment of metering options.
And, of course, the great thing about the UAD limiter is that I can load it into Console, which I cannot do with the TB product.
I often use the Barricade limiter from ToneBoosters (we used to know TB as the highly regarded Jeroen Breebaart suite of plugins). I've known for years that Breebaart plugins are not only good for the money but overall excellent effects. Check out his CV -- this guy knows what he's doing.
Anyway, though I was perfectly happy with the TB limiter I'm always looking for something different -- you never know, you know?
I was somewhat surprised to find that the TB limiter performed noticeably better than the UA offering. The sound was smoother and cleaner -- quite a bit, actually. And, ironically, the Barricade offers a lot more precision over the controls.
The only downer is that I cannot load the TB plug into Console which would be handy from time to time. However, strapped to the stereo bus, the ToneBooster limiter is a clear winner in the sound and control department. I'd give ease of operation to the UAD, perhaps, for the auto release and attack functions for people who might not know where to start with attack and release settings.
I spent several hours over a few days comparing the Universal Audio Precision Limiter to the ToneBoosters Barricade Limiter, which I already own. The results were both surprising and, really, not that surprising.
Both plugs perform the same basic task: clean brick wall limiting on busses and especially the stereo mix bus.
The UAD PL works and sounds good. No real complaints from me except that UA wants $200 for it.
Auto release works well and the sound is pretty transparent without pumping and with a nice compliment of metering options.
And, of course, the great thing about the UAD limiter is that I can load it into Console, which I cannot do with the TB product.
I often use the Barricade limiter from ToneBoosters (we used to know TB as the highly regarded Jeroen Breebaart suite of plugins). I've known for years that Breebaart plugins are not only good for the money but overall excellent effects. Check out his CV -- this guy knows what he's doing.
Anyway, though I was perfectly happy with the TB limiter I'm always looking for something different -- you never know, you know?
I was somewhat surprised to find that the TB limiter performed noticeably better than the UA offering. The sound was smoother and cleaner -- quite a bit, actually. And, ironically, the Barricade offers a lot more precision over the controls.
The only downer is that I cannot load the TB plug into Console which would be handy from time to time. However, strapped to the stereo bus, the ToneBooster limiter is a clear winner in the sound and control department. I'd give ease of operation to the UAD, perhaps, for the auto release and attack functions for people who might not know where to start with attack and release settings.